Take Me Away
by KorranHalcyon
Summary: Took away the old one. Anyways, the Exile, now known as Darth Narius has sided with DS Lord Revan Male and are now takeing over the Republic after claiming the Sith Empire.
1. Default Chapter

Darth Narius was unlike every other Sith Lord. Unlike most of them, his heart was still beating – somewhere. However that was deep down and he didn't know if he could bring it back. Most of the Sith would take on an ugly, pale, creased appearance – again, a trait he did not share.

His hair was cropped, thick blond hair and his walk assumed a regal grace that only the mighty assumed. His cheekbones were high and his jaw tight in place. Unlike the weaker Sith, he maintained a lean, tanned complexion of a handsome man.

It was only an hour ago he had flown off Citadel Station. Slouching in his seat he put his chin in his hand, staring in a bored daze at the climate slowly turning to snow. His saber was at his side and his mind though his face resembled boredom, was prepped and ready to sense the Jedi when he neared. Above all things this was exciting – he hadn't seen Atton Rand, the Echani or Bao-Dur for two years.

"What if they don't except me?" A lump formed in his throat as he thought aloud. "Look what I've become."

_ "You didn't come to be loved. You follow Revan." _The voice in his head intervened.

Truly he wasn't there to be loved actually he didn't know what his purpose was. He merely focused on a goal but when he arrived the purpose was upon him and that would be soon. He mulled over this for some time, as soon as he boarded the private freighter for that matter.

"Speaking of Master." The Sith pulled out his comlink and accessed the coordinates to his Master's comlink.

_ "What is it?" _Came the cold voice of the Sith Lord.

"I have successfully tracked down the three, Master." That wasn't entirely true. He had only started on a hunch.

"Excellent news Lord Narius. You will report back as soon as you are done. Then you will bring them to the Nova with you."

The Sith nodded in understanding. "Of course my Master. However, they do not know that I am a Sith – or the are even back. Until I bring them to the Nova I'm going to be busy building their trust. This might take a while so I won't be making as frequent reports." He explained hurriedly.

Honestly, he did not want Revan to know where they were. He knew that if his Master even had a hunch of where he was there would be troops down there within the hour.

There was silence over the communicator for a little while. How he hated the silence. _"Very well Lord Narius. I will trust your judgment." _

By his tone Revan was not happy one bit. The Sith most likely was looking forward to sending down a fleet. What made it worse was that these were Jedi, another thing the Dark Lord did not know. The communicator went dead and the proximity of alarm went off.

Red lights illuminated his icy blue eyes. With a simple sequence command on the navi-computer, the ship was under his command again. Narius pulled the triggers to the left taking the small shuttle down for a light landing only thirty-five feet from the small Polar Academy.

He decided to let the computer take care of the landing, now it was time to figure out if his friends where here. Darth Narius reached out into the Force, letting himself touch everything in the ship to the academy.

Now it was late and if there were students, the Sith wouldn't be able to sense the stirring of dreams – neither did he care to. Then he felt their presence. It had been so long he didn't know how to distinguish one presence for another but it was the energy of a seasoned Jedi Master, one that never changed and that presence was most likely Atton Rand.

"So, the scoundrel knows how to follow orders." His voice dripped with bitterness.

Sitting back for a moment in the seat he reached behind him and pulled out his Force Mask. They would not know his presence just yet. He pulled the elastic band back, the metal fastening around his face. The Sith put the hood of his robes up, they were his usual Mutakai Master tunic with a cape that harbored a hood.

His heart began to pound. The thought of seeing them again was almost to much as the Sith let himself fall into the comfort of the fact that they were there.

Opening the door, the familiar briskness of the Polar Region bit at his cheeks. The restoration effort didn't reach this far.

"Feels like my last time on Telos." He almost took those words back immediately after remembering that they were the exact ones of Atton.

He remembered it all right! After they had killed Paragus (Sion killed Paragus that is) they had headed for Citadel Station. The TSF imprisoned them, that was when the former Darius Brawler turned to Czerka Corporations. 

They had offered him a shuttle after a few tasks and he had crashed on Telos, that was when they met Bao-Dur. The restoration zone trip was not kind to them at all. Turrets opened fire on them and the ship went crashing down on the surface of the planet.

He smiled at his less then happy memory. Although, it was better then his recent ones. Lately he was either killing Sith opposing factions or gathering information on how to kill the Republic. He didn't enjoy killing but he didn't mind either.

Humanity had betrayed the young Sith, stabbed him in his heart. Now he didn't have one to follow. Truly he did not expect the Jedi Masters, whom Darth Traya had "killed" at the rebuilt Jedi Enclave. His old friend, Master Kavaar, met up with him while he and Revan were fighting for the Sith.

He and Kavaar had taken their battle as far as Mustafar, the boiling planet of lava and volcanoes. The Jedi had taken his lightsaber and slashed him down the side of his face, scarring him for eternity, though it was not that noticeable and it did not hurt his handsome appearance in the least.

Narius bore the scar as a sign of his betrayal of the Jedi. Now all he wanted was to destroy them.

He scowled inside his mask. That was a bitter memory. He mulled over this until he came to the cold steel door of the ice academy. Narius pounded on it once and waited for a few minutes…

After five minutes of waiting, the door finally opened. There before him was none other then the beautiful face of Brianna, the Echani that had captured his heart so many years ago. She hadn't changed at all except she had grown her hair a little bit longer and her clothes were not the familiar gray Jedi robes.

Not one could compare to the simple elegance of her beauty and grace as her warm, blue eyes stared in question at the masked man. Narius smiled behind it as he took in her petite, slender appearance.

"Can I help you?" She asked unsurely.

Narius pondered what to say. "Erm," A lump formed in the trim Sith's throat. "Well, I noticed that this was a shelter and my ship just crashed over the Polar Region on the way to the Floral Region."

"_Alright, not the best explanation but it works." _

She was obviously studying him as she didn't respond for a moment. Narius shifted his weight from foot to foot for a few minutes. "I suppose you need shelter then." Her tone suggested that she understood. "This is a Jedi Academy so I trust that your presence will not hinder our day to day activity. And do not make this known to anyone, only students who are called by the Force know about us. This is now a secret."

He nodded though only he knew that at the end of his stay Revan would have know about this. The thought of Jedi was embittering. He gnashed his teeth behind his mask though he kept a calm composure and presence. "Of course. My presence will be invisible, I assure you." 

"Very well. Now what is your name?"

_ "Damn." _

"Cedric," He said slowly. "Cedric Silvio." That was good.

"Alright Silvio. Let me show you to the head instructor, Master Rand. He will need to clear you." 'Cedric' or Narius nodded and followed her up a familiar path of stairs. It was Atris' old meditation quarters.

He noticed that Brianna had seen his lightsaber. Her face immediately fell at the sight of it. He was inwardly grateful she did not say anything. They stopped at the two tall doors. She opened them and led him into a dimly lit room where the Sith Holocrons still bordered the wall, only there was a desk and a bed.

"Master Rand, we have a visitor." The Echani said briefly.

He noticed Atton hadn't changed much. He smiled behind his mask. The Jedi was shorter then him like always, didn't change his hair style but he did have some whiskers as facial hair and wore traditional Jedi Master robes like Brianna.

"Alright. Let me guess, your familiar with the Jedi ways." His tone didn't change much either. He did have however, a serious, sharpened air about him but his usual laid back self never really left his apparent nature. If Narius didn't know the Force this would be a mystery to him.

"What makes you think that?" His voice was low, thick and rich. It echoed through the lowly room.

"Your lightsaber."

The Sith nodded slowly, lofting an eyebrow. This would be hard to explain. He still kept calm and collected. "This," He took the saber off his belt. "is a little prize I won from a Jedi in the Mandolorian Wars. I've kept it with me because it seems cool."

"Armature enough."

Not to the Jedi. He didn't think of the long run. Atton lofted an eyebrow at him, Brianna looking at him suspiciously. "I don't think so. When you walked into this chamber I sensed a strong, experienced presence. Like an echo only it was complete. It's almost as if…"

Narius rolled his eyes but smiled. Enough was enough. "Like I'm Darius Brawler?" He asked.

Atton's eyes went wide. The Jedi walked up to him. "How do you know about him?" Knowing him so long, the Sith could tell the Jedi's patience was finally gone.

He smiled and took off his mask…


	2. Where Heart Shall Break My Dear

Darth Revan meditated under the darkness of his meditation chambers. The Sith Lord indeed was concerned on the whereabouts of his apprentice – Lord Narius. He sensed that the young man had a deep emotional connection with the Echani woman and the scoundrel Jedi.

"Master Revan, we have found the Polar Region milord." A Dark armored troop came in with a crisp salute. Revan opened his eyes, a maniac smile spreading on his lips. The Dark Lord pushed the hair away from his face.

"Excellent and Lord Narius, have you found him as well?" He was most anxious to track his apprentice and bring out the truth. There was something the boy was not telling him, and he sensed it.

"No milord, but we have found activity over the region. Our broad range sensors picked up the sound of cyber waves being generated over one of the last circuits that supposedly died a while ago."

This was indeed interesting. He contorted his face in amusement, lofting both eyebrows. How could they have missed something like this? And why would someone try to hide their presence it was just to suspicious and perhaps all to sweet at the same time.

"Very good, tell your men to touch down to the surface of the Polar Region right away." He wouldn't reveal the reasons to his men unless it was necessary, this was Sith business strictly.

The Dark Lord stood up, drawing himself to a menacing height above his men and left the meditation quarters for the bridge…

Darth Narius could honestly say that he did not expect this type of welcome. The Sith stared boringly and annoyed into the ceiling. First thing his mask came off, Atton assumed he was a shape shifter and chucked him into one of the spare rooms of the academy and held him there. Oddly though, he didn't see any Jedi.

The room wasn't the worst he had been in. It had a refresher, a washroom and a bed, which was a considerable thing for the adjoining room in this one which he, had no luxury of in the Nova. Master Revan considered the absence of luxury a hardening thing for character in a Sith Lord.

The hours seemed to pass by at a slow rate, to slow for his taste. He ran a hand through his hair. It wouldn't be real hard to escape from the low quality lock, all it took was a little application of the Force to mechanism and he would be free. Though his lightsaber was gone his skill in the Force out did all.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the door opened revealing none other then Atton Rand. His face had maintained the pale color it assumed since he had taken off his mask.

The Jedi walked up to him, his eyes revealing a ton of question and distrust in the Sith. "Who are you?" His voice shook with frustration.

Narius sighed and rolled his eyes. "Atton, you know who I am. I'm your friend, the one who told you to come here in the first place. By the way, I am wondering if you have trained up the Jedi properly."

Atton leered at him. "Your lying. The identity you are assuming is one of a dead Jedi and the most noble one. Darius died a year after he left!" His voice was dripping with anger by the minute.

"How do you propose I prove anything to you?" Narius still held a composed, calm air around him. Atton was no master.

"Alright, how about a little test. Try to break into my mind." This wouldn't be hard. It was a simple answer.

"I can't you already told me about your Pazaak thing." Now the Sith was beginning to get annoyed.

Atton raised an eyebrow at him. He stalked out of the room, motioning "Darius" to follow him.

Narius stood up from his sitting position on the bed and followed him up the stairs to the docking bay. He knew his way around the academy quite well after his two days of recent with his latest visit to Atris. That reminded him. "What has become of Atris?" He didn't really care.

Now the Jedi began to show belief in him. "She, she died a year ago."

Narius nodded as they continued to take their walk. He was becoming extremely bored. Physically he could endure the walk, but mentally in patience, no. This was to boring for the young Sith Lord.

They finished their trek through the academy within five minutes before stopping in front of a circular, rusty red ship. His eyes popped out of his head. "The Ebonhawk! I thought you had disposed of this a while ago!"

Now there were no more doubts in the Jedi's mind. "By the four moons, you are Darius." He breathed. The Jedi went up to him and embraced his friend. The young Sith gave him a look of confusion, amazed at this display of emotion.

"Good to see you too Atton." He said uncertainly. The scoundrel looked up to give him a wide spread grin.

"Someone else wants to see you. She was really sad and withdrawn over the year. Your appearance has made it worse." Atton displayed sympathy in his tone.

Suddenly the ice in Narius' eyes melted. "Where is Brianna?" "Your room." Was the simple response.

Darth Narius reached into the Force and bolted down the corridor, the grinning face of Atton Rand following him…

Revan's icy gaze turned to anger as he noticed his guards acting strangely. He had been disturbed from his reflection in his quarters. The ship had yet to board in the Polar Region, the satellite was still broad searching the terrain for any sign of life in the refuge they supposedly found.

The Sith Lord ran a hand through his long, thick black hair. He was getting tired of waiting but patience was always a useful trait in the line of deceit. He watched boringly out the Star Port window, ships went by the wreckage of space – indeed quite the under concept of enjoyment.

"Lord Revan, there is a Duros Bounty Hunter on the communications graph. He requests to speak to you, what should I tell him." Revan sat up straight lofting both eyes. A Duros, how amusing.

"I shall be there at once." Was his prompt reply. The Sith straightened up for a moment then headed over to the terminal next door.

"Yes, Lord Revan will be here within the moment." He heard the captain say in a hurry. He looked up for a moment, recognizing the Dark Lord. "Yes, he is here now."

Revan took the comm. Screen. "A Duros contacting the Nova? What is your business for disturbing our vessel."

The bounty hunter looked red on the screen. "I am a survivor of the Outer Rim purge your greatness. I know that you and Darth Narius are the lords of the outer rim. I also know where your apprentice lingers at this moment." There was hint of slyness to the bounty hunter's flushed appearance.

Revan straightened up, his attention now fully focused on the screen. "And where would that be?"

The Duros held his hand up. "You see, that is where reward comes. Unless you agree to the sum of 50,000 credits, I will not give you the coordinates to the hidden place and the other details a Sith would love to know."

Suddenly a thought crossed him. Revan pursed his lips, he would play along with this bounty hunter for a little bit. "I agree to your terms. Now give me my information bounty hunter…" The deal was made…

Darth Narius stopped at the door of his chambers, his body drenched in sweat. In the long run, he had made it with the Force surmised to say within two minutes. His scar began to throb as a constant reminder, in his mind, that this was a Jedi – the race that betrayed him.

"And the ones that will pay." He mumbled to himself. However he was only quoting his master, not his heart.

Darth Narius unlike the Sith followed his heart to the very end and no one could change him from his path. The young Sith relished the thought for two years to be in the company of his friends, especially a particular Echani woman again.

He flattened the folds of his robes, shifting uncomfortably. A small lump formed in his throat – he didn't know if he could face her.

Sucking it in he decided he needed to do what needed to be done. The young man collected himself and opened the door.

"Why are you doing this?" The voice was miserable and pain stricken. He knew she didn't believe it was him.

"Excuse me?" Narius asked, turning to see her beautiful yet sorrowful form sitting on his bed. "I am not doing anything. Listen, I know you are upset – you think I am not Darius that I am some shape shifter." It took him some courage to refer to himself as the man he considered a traitor. 

She looked up at him, her eyes, her beautiful blue eyes covered in hot tears. Narius walked over to her and sat next to the Jedi sending soothing waves of energy through the Force. He was surprised that she could resist them. "I never thought I would see you again." She whispered, turning head away from him.

The Sith leaned in and turned her face to his, only a breath apart the two were. "Don't be sad for me. I am here now and am not going anywhere." How he hated to lie like that. He knew he would have to inevitably face Revan. Another promise he could not keep.

But he wasn't there to be loved. This was just another ploy to calm her down and force the Jedi into a sense of false security so he could strike them down, right?

He gazed into her eyes and she in his. He felt as if the worlds revolved, at this moment around and her and no one else. Darth Narius lost himself in her beautiful eyes which were glossed over with tears. He leaned in and kissed her.

Then and there he was going to stop but when she didn't pull away he continued to brush his lips against hers, deepening the kiss as he held her close. He could kiss her for hours, days…

She pulled away. "I don't understand you?" She sat up.

Narius gave her a puzzled look, the ice slowly returning to his eyes. "I thought you knew my heart?"

"I… I thought I did. Then you come back and are entirely different. Your eyes, your walk – all of it seems to carry the same shade it did when I first met you."

The Sith stood up, alarmed that she seemed to figure him out right away. Did she know his hidden agenda as well? That would make trust even harder. "I'm sorry." "But you don't mean it." She shot back boldly. Her voice carried a certain passion mixed with anger. "Darius, you've changed and not for the better. You eyes are cold and flecked with ice, and your walk is of the hunter who wants to hide himself then strike without reason. You are not the same."

He looked at the floor. He couldn't reveal anything could he? No, he needed to contact his master. "And I don't love you anymore." She added.

And there he lost his heart. Narius turned away, rage shown brightly in his eyes. He couldn't hide the eddy of dark energy he let free and swirl around him. She had betrayed him – all the Jedi did. Apparently she was one smarter then Atton Rand who did not see through his mask.

"So be it." Was his cold response. It seeped with a mark of pain and betrayal…


	3. Don't Turn Against Me

Darth Narius watched expectantly at the sky. Only an hour ago he had called his Master, Darth Revan to assist him at the Polar Region. Lightsaber prepped, the young Sith Lord twirled the hilt boringly in his fingers, his eyes turning red as he focused the Dark Side on the ice.

This was a technique taught by the Sith for focusing ones dark aura to alter the process of their surroundings. He let himself fall into a trance of Darkness, his short hair bristling in the cold breeze of the Polar Region. Suddenly his vision became blurry…

_ "You must face your destiny boy." Darius looked around himself in disbelief. Revan stood before him but dressed in odd, black robes. His hand was outstretched with a saber hilt in it. "The Jedi have betrayed you, they are no longer your friends. You saw what they did to you at the Enclave or tried to do. Don't let love fool you – there is none." _

He raised his head to meet the expecting red eyes of Darth Revan. He remembered the Jedi, all that they had done for him in the past. 'They betrayed me.' He thought bitterly to himself. 'But the Dark Side will crush me.' 

_He nodded, lowering his head running a hand through his shaggy, brown hair. "I can't betray myself and join you." He said slowly. "You will crush me, Revan. And… and I do not trust you." _

_With that, he ignited his saber but the Dark Lord only laughed, the flames of Mustafar being spit up from the flaming planet. "The Jedi do not trust you, they are always haunting your steps! Don't let their weakness hold you back from the power of your destiny!" He gripped the saber in his hand walked closer to Darius. _

"_Join me Jedi." Revan spat menacingly. _

_He looked into the flames, the blistering heat of Mustafar capturing his image. "This is not the person I am supposed to be." His heart broke with every word. Planets had died around him, millions suffered while he was to weak to save them. His Jedi teaching wrought weakness upon his very body. "I am supposed to be strong, I am supposed to save people!" He crushed his old saber in the palm of his hand. _

_His eyes glowed an eerie shade of red as he gazed upon the Jedi Master – Kavaar. He was watching this whole thing from a cage that Revan had captured him in. _

_  
"I surrender to destiny… I…I will join you." And those words imprisoned his soul forever. _

_Revan cackled maniacally giving him the black, carved hilt of the Sith. "Your destiny will complete you once you destroy what awaits you in the corner."_

His hands were trembling as he grasped the saber in his gloves, unscrewed the bottom, and put the red crystals in it. The cavern of fire boiled around the three, and only the red-hot color of the fire illuminated the area. Rocks were spat up from the planet as lava flowed from rocky streams and cliffs. 

"_Master Kavaar, arise." Revan was utterly satisfied. _

_Darth Narius activated the beam and red and blue, betrayal and betrayal met against each other…_

His breaths were ragged as he thrashed about in the ice. Narius opened his eyes, sweat dripping off of his forehead and onto the ice. "No one was ever there for me! Is this what the Jedi have wrought on me, duplicity?" He screamed as his heart tore into millions of pieces.

The Sith hoisted himself to his feet and just screamed, screamed for an eternity into the nothing he was. He collapsed by his ship, burying his face in his gloved hands, dropping the saber next to him. Darth Narius wept.

"Your anger serves you well." There words were uttered by a rich, dark voice of a Sith. He recognized that tone to well. Narius lifted up his head to meet the stern gaze of his Master.

"While you thrashed in your slumber all the ice within eight feet of you melted pretty well."

Those were words of praise were coming from the dead lips of the man who killed him. Narius grabbed his saber, the red blade illuminating his sad, evil-swollen face.

"You have destroyed me. You told me to face destiny, it would make me stronger but it didn't! All you have done is manipulate me from the beginning!" The irony of it all was that this man was the closest thing he had to a father, a friend in some time and now he suffered duplicity from him as well.

"I have made you stronger. I and all people can see it with every stroke of your saber. And you have yet to reach your true potential. Friend, I am guiding you on a road where there will be freedom, where you can save those you love and weakness will not be an obstacle." Revan spoke truth through a lie.

"Leave me be Master. Let me meditate on my anger, let me allow it to burn through my soul that I might be able to control this power." His eyes burned with truth thought they were red with malice from the Dark Side.

Revan turned to leave while Narius collapsed against his ship. Did he truly make the right choice? He watched his Master's robed form fade into the distance of the Polar Region. The only ones who could answer this were the ones he loved and they stood in the safety in their halls, just like they did during the Mandolorian Wars almost as if…

"The Jedi betrayed the Republic, the Galaxy. And yet they still hide, they are hiding from me. There is nothing for me but my Master. They will suffer." His voice was low like the growling of a beast.

Narius sped to the academy so close to him. Violently he pushed the door open. It was day and the Jedi would be wide awake.

"You are not permitted in here." It was the stern voice of a woman. The woman he thought loved him.

"I am here to tell you something." He mumbled weakly, his face bearing the anguish of a thousand galaxies.

Suddenly Brianna's face turned to sympathy. She still kept her distance from him. "You are troubled. Something is killing you inside."

"I am not who you think I am." He began slowly, his hand gripping his saber tightly until his knuckles turned white. Part of Narius could not believe he was saying this. "In fact, I am the furthest thing from a Jedi there will ever be."

"You are the reason we are here at the Academy. You are the reason that there are many Jedi learning in these walls." Her voice suggested that she was sympathizing with him.

"I am weak. And I am weak… God, I am weak because… I've turned on the Jedi. I have turned my back on all of them, lost my way again!" He slammed a fist into the wall.

She obviously was shocked. Brianna would not say a word as he lifted his head high and walked up to her. Pain and anguish was tearing him up inside, and he didn't know if he could overcome it.

"There is nothing left to say just-" He cut her off.

"There is plenty left to say! I am not Darius, I am Darth Narius and Revan is my Master! Look what the Jedi have made me!"

She began to walk away, afraid of the rage that burned in his eyes. His blue eyes were welling up with tears as they slowly turned red. "The Jedi turned against me! Don't you turn against me!" He crouched down and pounded a fist into the floor.

He calmed down for a moment. He would have said sorry, but she was already gone and there was indeed nothing left to say. "I have lost everything." He mumbled to himself before collapsing again and sobbing. The Sith had completely lost it…


	4. The Lost Memories Of Love

I was always told to savor what is real and to embrace what I can keep yet today there is nothing. As I pick myself up from the cold, steel floor of the ice academy, my mind is racing with question and reminisce. Why had I sold my soul to the Dark Side? Why did I give in to hate when I could have kept who I loved most by my side.

My hands were trembling by now and the speck of brilliance, the warm blue of my eyes turned to cold steel. I had learned to hate, become a monster – but when I saw her again, it was as if a thousand years had breathed into the space between us.

"And now look what I am." I said aloud. How could Revan do this to me, how could I become such a heartless monster.

It started as an innocent way to become stronger, to save those who couldn't hold justice. I need someone to save me, but what if I don't want to be saved, what if I just want to wallow in the darkness that has so long destroyed the life within my heart.

(Third Person POV)

Darth Narius kept his eyes on what was ahead of him, yet his eyes still looked back at the past he had destroyed for himself. He had sealed the fate of so many people, inhumanly destroyed all for the sake of power.

"After a long time we lost ourselves." He recognized that friendly voice.

He sighed, pursed his lips together and turned around to meet the emotionless face of Atton Rand. Had he come to pass judgment on him like so many did – like the council and even his own Master had?

"Have you come to judge me Jedi?" His voice was calm and flat as land.

Atton looked at him thoughtfully, his brown eyes bearing into the emotionless, steel eyes of the Sith Lord. "I will do what is right Darius." He was quiet. "But what is right is not always the best way. However, as a Jedi I am obligated to the safety of my students and the world. As a Sith Lord I must sentence you to death."

He watched silently as the scoundrel went for his saber. Narius was silent but didn't know if he should submit himself, to walk to his sentence again so willingly.

'I walked to my sentence to the Council a long time ago.' The green saber was in his hand. 'But he is my friend, if I fight, it will be to kill. And I cannot run.'

All these emotions – now he truly knew that he was betrayed. Narius too went for his saber, the silver handle of Blood Barren was appropriately. Darth Narius unhooked the saber…

"I can't kill you." He said sadly, his voice rich in sorrow and apology. "After all the lives I have taken, the many I have disowned and hurt I cannot kill my only friend." With that he threw his saber down. It landed with a loud and distinct CLANG before landing at the feet of the Jedi Knight.

"I'm sorry Atton, I'm not a Jedi and I'm not a Sith. I am an Exile, truly I am. No matter what I do, there will be no other alternative but suffering. I have wrought this punishment upon myself and nothing will change it. Do what must be done." This time he spoke with calm and a bitter tone. His steel eyes were empty – empty with betrayal, loneliness, pain, and heartbreak.

"I'm sorry old friend." The scoundrel whispered. He had been waiting for this moment; he knew it was to come.

"It is good to be here with you Atton Rand… here where I am at the end."

He closed his eyes tightly awaiting the inevitable. Bowing his head, he could feel the searing heat of the blazing green saber approach.

_ "I can never forget what I did those years ago." He laughed with his friends on the surface shortly after the battle on Malachor. The waves dragged at his feet during the whole time. "I will never forget any of you. Atton, Brianna, Bao-Dur and Mira all of you are the best friends I could ask for."_

They laughed in unison. Atton made his usual cocky remark. "Ya know what, out of all the schuttas in the galaxy, you're the best one I've ever had." 

_Darius raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "Had?" _

Atton turned red. "Well er- er… That's not fair!" He put on his whine which he was most famous for on the Ebonhawk. 

_Darius punched him in the ribs. "Atton, is there something you want to tell the rest of us?" Everyone was on the sandy surface, doubling over and roaring with laughter. _

_Darius as well couldn't help but keep down a small snigger. "You know I'm just teasing you. Friends?" He asked, hands up defensively as the scoundrel approached. _

_Atton turned around and crossed his arms grudgingly… "More like best friends." _

_Darius laughed wholeheartedly. _

The heat became intense…

He was comprising his small, pathetic wardrobe to take with him to the Unknown Regions back on the Ebon Hawk. Darius noted that the whole crew's mood turned from happy to sorrow as soon as they stepped up on the loading ramp.

"_You really are leaving." He put down his pack, turning around to meet the beautiful blue eyes of the Handmaiden, Brianna. _

"_Yes, and no," He added quickly. "you can't follow." His voice was flat and final and that was that._

_She looked at the floor but quickly lifted her head up. "Consider this Exile, you will be alone in a region… with no friends. Your only protection is yourself, what if something happens to you?" Her voice was soft and as angelic as angels were._

_He considered what she had said. Indeed if something did happen to him, that would be the end of his mission but a risk was a risk and he wasn't willing to put his friends in such a big one. Besides, having the ones he loved present only put more anxiety on his already heavy heart._

_With every step he led people to their victory or demise – this mission was almost a complete assured failure. He personally did not understand why he was going. "If something does happen," He turned his attention to a little globe lingering on the bunk. He lifted the little orb up with the Force. "then it happens. This risk is mine and mine alone. I am to find Revan, help him defeat the Sith and only then can I promise you peace."_

He put the orb down and turned back to her, noticing his stricken expression. He would love to take her, even the rest of the crew with him but that was impossible, and he knew it. 'Why am I even entertaining the idea?' He thought, putting a hand on his forehead.

"_I will bring you peace Brianna, I promise." _

_She nodded, closing her eyes. Darius could notice shimmering tears about to fall onto her beautiful, porcelain cheeks. "Do you promise?" It was as if a child clinging to its parent(s) but Darius knew it was something more._

_He walked over to her and hugged her, his long hair mixing with her soft, white locks of hair. He rested his head on hers while she on his chest. "I promise." His voice was barely a whisper. _

_How he wished and longed that he could hold onto her like this forever but that would only make leaving harder. However, there was a time to savor love and peace and this was one of the only moments in about ten years he had truly felt at peace._

_He closed his eyes while she nestled closer into him, her face into his soft, brown robes. The leather tabards were not so cold but warm. Darius pulled her closer to him, not wanting to let her go away from him again._

"I love you…" His voice trailed off before he noticed her sobbing into his tunic. He contorted his face in concern. 

"_What's wrong?" His voice was soft and gentle. She looked up into his warm blue eye - hers welled up with tears. _

"_I- I don't want to leave you. Darius, this is truly the first time I have ever felt at home somewhere. Home is not the Ebon Hawk but it is where you are – I felt that way ever since… ever since." She gasped and fell onto his chest. He bit his lower lip, looking down at her._

_He sensed a while ago that she had become emotionally attached to him but not this close. _

"_It hurts me to leave you." He whispered, pulling away and picking up his bag. "But I really must go. And I will return, I promise." One last look the Jedi headed for the door and never looked back at them again…_

He looked up to see the green saber, only an inch above him stopped quickly by a red blade, the cape of his rescuer covering his face.


End file.
